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Pearl Jam & Taylor Swift: The Music Version of Barbenheimer

Pearl Jam released their twelfth studio album, Dark Matter today (April 19). However, they’re not the only big artist to drop a new album today. Joining the legendary band with…

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam performs on stage as American Express Presents BST Hyde Park, in Hyde Park on July 08, 2022 in London, England; aylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona.
Gareth Cattermole, John Medina/Getty Images

Pearl Jam released their twelfth studio album, Dark Matter today (April 19). However, they're not the only big artist to drop a new album today.

Joining the legendary band with new music today is Taylor Swift. The pop superstar released her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, which she announced while accepting the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album back in February.

Naturally, today is a busy day for both the Pearl Jam and Taylor Swift fanbases, both of whom have taken to social media to talk about their respective new albums. Such a simultaneous event seems rare, but really, we've seen something like this before.

Emerson Lotzia, Jr. on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, "Taylor Swift and Pearl Jam dropping their new albums on the same day." He then accompanied his comment with a split still from the films Barbie and Oppenheimer.

That's right, friends! We got ourselves a new Barbenheimer!

In the comments of Lotzia Jr.'s post, someone pitched the names #TaylorJam and #PearlSwift. Perhaps the name should take a cue from the album titles and be called "Dark Poets" or "Tortured Matter." Whatever you want to call it, we'll leave it up to you to decide.

Eddie Vedder's Praise of Taylor Swift

Of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Eddie Vedder's kind words about Swift last month. The Pearl Jam frontman had quite the compliment for the singer-songwriter and her fans.

In an interview with Mojo, Vedder detailed his experience of attending a Swift show with one of his daughters. He talked about how much of a community Swifties were, particularly with their practice of making friendship bracelets and trading them with other fans at shows.

Vedder noted, "The craziest thing was it reminded me of punk rock crowds, of being aligned with all of the misfits in our town, back in the day. It was galvanizing and powerful."

Of course, Swift can't please everyone. Just ask Courtney Love.

Fan Reaction to Dark Matter

So far, fan reaction to Dark Matter appears to be overwhelmingly positive. Plenty of fans have taken to social media to share their appreciation for the new album.

One fan wrote, "Yeah the new Pearl Jam album is awesome." Another fan, referencing Swift, wrote, "The real Tortured Poets Department is those of us listening to the new Pearl Jam album and having no one to talk to about it."

One fan truly hit the nail on the head by writing, "Huge, huge day for music fans of all generations, even after all these years and all these records and all these generation-defining hits, it's hard to overstate how big a deal it is when there's a new album out by Pearl Jam."

It's always the perfect time to go through the Pearl Jam catalog and choose our favorite songs.

We’re pulling from albums, EPs, Christmas singles, B-sides and even alternate versions (since they’ve remixed every song on Ten, we specified what our favorite versions were.)

Of course, with a catalog like theirs, there are still tons of songs that we’ve missed. We’re sure you’ll let us know what we got wrong. 

50. “I Got ID” from ‘Merkin Ball’ (1995)

pearl-jam_merkin-ball_Epic-1.jpgEpic

49. “Indifference” from ‘Vs.’ (1993)

Pearl-Jam_vs_Epic-6.jpgEpic

48. “Deep” from ‘Ten - Redux’ (1991/2009)

pearl-jam_ten_epic-10.jpgEpic

47. “Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town” from ‘Vs.’ (1993)

Pearl-Jam_vs_Epic-5.jpgEpic

46. “Do The Evolution” from ‘Yield’ (1998)

pearl-jam_yield_Epic-2.jpgEpic

45. “Oceans (remix)” from ‘Even Flow’ single (1991)

pearl-jam_even-flow_Epic.jpgEpic

44. “Smile” from ‘No Code’ (1996)

pearl-jam_no-code_Epic-2.jpgEpic

43. “Sonic Reducer” Christmas single (1992)

pearl-jam_who-killed-rudolph_Epic.jpgEpic

42. “Red Mosquito” from ‘No Code’ (1996)

pearl-jam_no-code_Epic-1.jpgEpic

41. “Release” from ‘Ten’ (1991)

pearl-jam_ten_epic-9.jpgEpic

40. “Spin The Black Circle” from ‘Vitalogy’ (1994)

pearl-jam_vitalogy_Epic-3.jpgEpic

39. “Garden” from ‘Ten - Redux’ (1991/2009)

pearl-jam_ten_epic-8.jpgEpic

38. “Last Kiss” Christmas single (1998)

pearl-jam_last-kiss_Epic.jpgEpic

37. “Yellow Ledbetter” B-side (1991)

pearl-jam_yellow-ledbetter-jeremy_Epic-1.jpgEpic

36. “W.M.A.” from ‘Vs.’ (1993)

Pearl-Jam_vs_Epic-7.jpgEpic

35. “Amongst The Waves” from ‘Backspacer’ (2009)

pearl-jam_backspacer_Monkeywrench-2.jpgMonkeywrench

34. “Come Back” from ‘Pearl Jam’ (2006)

pearl-jam_pearl-jam_-J-Records-1.jpgJ Records

33. “Severed Hand” from ‘Pearl Jam’ (2006)

pearl-jam_pearl-jam_-J-Records.jpgJ Records

32. “The Fixer” from ‘Backspacer’ (2009)

pearl-jam_backspacer_Monkeywrench-1.jpgMonkeywrench

31. “Man Of The Hour” from ‘Big Fish’ (2003)

big-fish_Sony-Classical.jpgSony Classical

30. “Superblood Wolfmoon” from ‘Gigaton’ (2020)

pearl-jam_gigaton_Monkeywrench-1.jpgMonkeywrench

29. “Wash” B-side (1991)

pearl-jam_alive_Epic.jpgEpic

28. “Present Tense” from ‘No Code’ (1996)

pearl-jam_no-code_Epic.jpgEpic

27. “Sirens” from ‘Lightning Bolt’ (2013)

pearl-jam_lightning-bolt_Monkeywrench.jpgMonkeywrench

26. “I Am Mine” from ‘Riot Act’ (2002)

pearl-jam_riot-act_Epic-1.jpgEpic

25. “Jeremy” from ‘Ten - Redux’ (1991/2009)

pearl-jam_ten_epic-7.jpgEpic

24. “Long Road” from ‘Merkin Ball’ (1995)

pearl-jam_merkin-ball_Epic.jpgEpic

23. “Just Breathe” from ‘Backspacer’ (2009)

pearl-jam_backspacer_Monkeywrench.jpgMonkeywrench

22. “Thin Air” from ‘Binaural’ (2000)

pearl-jam_binaural_Epic-1.jpgEpic

21. “Nothing As It Seems” from ‘Binaural’ (2000)

pearl-jam_binaural_Epic.jpgEpic

20. “Rats” from ‘Vs.’ (1993)

Pearl-Jam_vs_Epic-8.jpgEpic

19. “Love Boat Captain” from ‘Riot Act’ (2002)

pearl-jam_riot-act_Epic.jpgEpic

18. “Crazy Mary” from ‘Sweet Relief’ (1993)

sweet-relief_Thirsty-Ear.jpgThirsty Ear

17. “Dance Of The Clairvoyants” from ‘Gigaton’ (2020)

pearl-jam_gigaton_Monkeywrench.jpgMonkeywrench

16. “Why Go” from ‘Ten - Redux’ (1991/2009)

pearl-jam_ten_epic-6.jpgEpic

15. “Footsteps” B-side (1992)

pearl-jam_yellow-ledbetter-jeremy_Epic.jpgEpic

14. “Porch” from ‘Ten - Redux’ (1991/2009)

pearl-jam_ten_epic-5.jpgEpic

13. “State Of Love And Trust” from ‘Ten - Redux’ (1991/2009)

pearl-jam_ten_epic-4.jpgEpic

12. “Black” from ‘Ten’ (1991)

pearl-jam_ten_epic-3.jpgEpic

11. “Wishlist” from ‘Yield’ (1998)

pearl-jam_yield_Epic-1.jpgEpic

10. “Daughter” from ‘Vs.’ (1993)

Pearl-Jam_vs_Epic-9.jpgEpic

9. “Once” from ‘Ten’ (1991)

pearl-jam_ten_epic-2.jpgEpic

8. “Given To Fly” from ‘Yield’ (1998)

pearl-jam_yield_Epic.jpgEpic

7. “Not For You” from ‘Vitalogy’ (1994)

pearl-jam_vitalogy_Epic-2.jpgEpic

6. “Animal” from ‘Vs.’ (1993)

Pearl-Jam_vs_Epic-10.jpgEpic

5. “Alive” from ‘Ten’ (1991)

pearl-jam_ten_epic-1.jpgEpic

4. “Better Man” from ‘Vitalogy’ (1994)

pearl-jam_vitalogy_Epic-1.jpgEpic

3. “Even Flow” from ‘Ten - Redux’ (1991/2009)

pearl-jam_ten_epic.jpgEpic

2. “Rearviewmirror” from ‘Vs.’ (1993)

Pearl-Jam_vs_Epic-11.jpgEpic

1. “Corduroy” from ‘Vitalogy’ (1994)

pearl-jam_vitalogy_Epic.jpgEpic
Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights